Persona Q: Metempsychosis
by Rei Shadows
Summary: How can one face the world when they don't know who they really are? It is going to take teams of more then a few to face the world. The only question is how far is to far.
1. Whispers In The Dark: Part 1

((Ages are based on Persona 3: The Answer. Persona 4 AU))

((Yukari Personality Is Based The Answer, While Junpei is a Mixed Bag of P3P, The Answer, and Cut P3P Ending, however, he doesn't love her in this at least not in the lover type way))

((P3 Female Hero Can Be Played In Persona 3 Portable. However, she has no The Answer cannon. Which is important later for this story))

((P3P CUT means it's a P3P reference))

((Also I will try and work my use of the word however). I know I need to work my detailing. See anything else I need to work on feel free tell. I do a lot of stuff out of habit. Sorry)

July ? 2013

"How many narratives start out the same do you think? Yes, you please come in no need to be shy we are all friends here. Come! Have a seat and let us have a brief heart to heart, shall we?"

An old crooked nose man sits in the middle of a darkened room. No windows, no lights, however, you could still feel a very slight breeze flowing around slowly. The air had the scent of roses and fresh running water.

"Yes now, where was I? Oh right…..narratives and how often we see them. Let's use this one to get to the point. It's a classic really that has been retold countless time over the path of history and just facing facts will be told many more times over."

"Picture this aging scene that is truly, in fact, timeless. Alone on a train looking out a window at the new environment that awaits you on your next tale of life. The sensing of people you have yet connected with that will change your life forever await you or at the very least the longing for that to happen is what you are feeling for no one truly wishes to feel alone in this world."

"But alas isn't it funny for no matter how many times this so called set up is shown in motion pictures and other culture mediums feeling it first hand is the only way our bodies, hearts, and minds are able to understand this situation does just happen to people every day more than we think. However, let's cut the bullshit shall we as the young kids would say? We all know where this story is leading if we were to keep going as normal guidelines would dictate? You've heard this one before right? Then we will add a few more details to fill out what we have so far. In the hopes, something changes allowing new events to arise in the norm of the story. A butterfly effect for the lack of a better explanation.

"A young girl comes to town and suddenly everything is thrown at her at once in the same manner. Doesn't seem to change much, does it? All we really did was add a gender and it is no longer you personally."

"He-he...Oh, you misfortunate simple unenlightened fool with that line of thinking you have only just touched the surface of the story and your mind has been limited. Or better to say what you hold in your heart is the same things all mortals have. Rebellion or programmed reactions."

"The mindset of 'Whatever is being said I'm going to be cool and disagree' the feeling of 'You can't tell me what to do or what to like' even 'No matter if it's wrong or not I will not see eye to eye in the slightest with a viewpoint that is not my own. I will not look away from my path' I admit the last one was a little long but besides the point…. We have all been there but most without good reason to be. We use the excuses 'Twas' a thing of youth' 'When I was younger' and the oh so classic "In my immaturity'. And you know these are valid being it's just a stage in life for most people but it helps us grow into who they are later in life but forgive me I am getting too far ahead of myself right now."

The old man's eyes seemed to glass over as he for a brief second became quite as he studied the reaction of the person he seemed to be speaking to.

"Oh, that's right how rude of me silly me I forget to introduce myself our dear guest as I fear you may not remember me as of right now. My name is Igor and the next we meet will be very soon my dear girl. So please try and look after yourself be it alas for now it seems our time is running short.

For right now you will be alone in the word with no memory of yourself but be not afraid for those who love you will come and find you sooner than you think.

Before you wake up for now let me simply say a phase many before have found themselves greeted to "Welcome to the Velvet Room"

October 28, 2013

Location: Soroni Mountains

"So you are telling me you got this information from a reliable source but you refuse to tell us where we are going or even why we are going. Honestly, I don't know why we are so keen just to follow you blindly sometimes. One day I swear you are going to be the death of us all"

"Are you complaining now Chie? If you were going to complain and question him then why come in the first place? Don't get me wrong I somewhat agree with you but you know-"

"Relax Yosuke I'm not really complaining I am just a little bit nervous here because I am not used to this type of weather and environment," Chie marched slowly behind Yosuke on a snowy path up the hill. She wore a dark green jumper with black gloves black pants and dark green combat boots. They were slowly walking up what seemed to be a cleared path along the side of the mountain. The path was rocky and at times narrow at it lead up," He warned us about the fucking snow, mountain, and general dangers but not the reason for all this? Needless to say I not fully in my comfort zone right now but with that in the back of my mind as well is not helping,"

"True you have been away from training for a while if I were to guess as well? You were studying for Academy Entrance Exams. Law academy right?" Yosuke said with his hands in his pocket. He wore a big black jacket with orange fingerless gloves which in this weather didn't seem like the best idea so at the time he was just keeping his hands warm," Shame really but our bodies are not in the same shape they were when we were fighting almost daily in the TV World. So this is a rough climb for us all. We are jump lucky there is a path and we literally don't have to climb up the side of the mountain. I am just a store manager right now so even I don't have the luxury of being out day to day messing around. Man getting older sucks"

"I said I was sorry to pull you all away from your studies and jobs but this was very important. As for why we are here, I was asked not to tell anyone but just gathered the people I trusted." However, as Yu said this he had this strange look on his face that seemed like he wasn't telling the whole truth. Lucky for him his face was covered in a black scarf and facing away from the rest. Be that as it may, the one thing he could mask from his friends was his voice.

"Uh, Yu? You don't think you got that wrong a little do you? Maybe they meant don't tell anyone outside of the people you trust or bring along with you? Cause the other way seems way to literal not to mention a bit stupid," A smaller female was walking behind with a slightly annoyed look on her face. The lower half of her face was covered in a red scarf to keep the wind from directing blowing in her face. Yellow ear muffs cover her ear. Her arms were wrapped around her body hugging her dark red jacket.

"Rise has a point there partner. You do have a bad habit of taking things to seriously time to time...well more like over thinking things but you get my point. We will follow to ends of the earth and back but it might be a little easier on us if you knew what we 'have' gotten ourselves into man. Going into things blind in the past seems to not have worked out for us very well if memory serves right," Yosuke said partly amused while having a strong sign of concern in his voice.

Yu stopped and just seemed to relent on his stubbornness. It not like he didn't already understand what was being said but it was the fact he had already figured out he messed up and was still trying to hide that fact from the rest of them because he didn't like showing signs of weakness to those who relied on him. However his friends were smarter than he would like at times like these," Fine, I see your point," he held his hand up to be sure they stopped with him," You all have heard of the groups S.E.E.D.S right? While I was online about two weeks ago looking over research for a paper I was doing for a class and a message popped up on my screen. It was from Mitsuru Kirijo asking for us to come to this location for a meeting on some assistance they need. Also, don't worry I made sure it was really her. She called my phone. Sent background information and the whole nine yards,"

"What would be wig like her want with us? Not like she just can't pay for a greater mind than ourselves to help her out" Yosuke eyebrow raised," Is she cute by the way?" Yu just shrugged for both questions.

"Most likely it has something to do with shadows or something akin to that. In my dealings, I have come across her company a few times and that has poked me to so some digging from time to time. Three years ago her father was said to have dead for unidentified reasons. I say unidentified because the reason given by the company was way too vague to be a real reason in my mind but had just enough true it didn't make anyone to suspicious be it like with most famous people. However not to overstate it but well I am not the norm by being a persona user and some details didn't add up to me as I began to hear more and more about the man's death" Naoto stood shaking as the cold was getting to her even with her warm navy jacket on and full hooded head cover. She was rubbing her black clothes hands together as she talked," From what I could gather with little information he was killed by one of his own employees during something called the Midnight Hour"

"What is the midnight hour?" Yu asked," Doesn't sound like much but names can be deceiving"

"That's more confusing than I think I can explain sorry. It's would be better to have some or someone who has been a part of it first hand to do that. However, from what I could find the midnight hour sounds really close to what we would call The Wold Inside the TV's...you could really almost say from what I know they are connected but I don't want to overstep myself"

No one was surprised that Naoto of all people had done research after figuring what may be going on,"So yeah it's may have something to do with the shadows but I wasn't given that much information, but after hearing that I think it is safe to assume we should be ready for a fight" Yu sighed he ran a hand over his head before wrapping his gray scarf more tightly around his face," If Naoto is right I would think Mitsuru-Senpai would have weapons for us if need be-"

"Otherwise you fucked up in not telling us and we are heading to battle defenseless," Yosuke butted in half teasing his friend," Well at least this is a break from school life right now. Sorry to say but I was starting to get bored settling in normal everyday life," Even if he said that you could hear the slight nervousness in his voice. He hated being bored but he didn't like the idea of any of them being in danger.

"I get the point sorry," Yu rolling his eyes facing away from them," by the way have you noticed yet?"

"What the fact we aren't alone?" Yosuke looked around right as a hooded figure jumped out wielding a slim bat. The figure took aim at Yosuke as it came down at him. Yosuke had enough insight in reading the attack to dodge at the last second rolling on the ground before being on all fours looking up with a smirk on his face," Y-yeah I noticed!"

"Good!" Yu smirked," Didn't wanna carry your ass after we beat this guy down!"

Yosuke rolled his eyes while being careful not to take his eyes of the figure standing before him,"Huh, good going kid but a second later and I would have had to explain to the 'Leader' why I ended up in jail and boy let me tell you she wouldn't be too happy about that however aren't you still a little bit to relaxed?" the figure spoke as an arrow shot pass Yosuke's cheek scratching it and blood start slowly pouring down his face.

"Yosuke!" Yu started to towards his friend but the ground shook under him as a fist came out the ground nailing him square in the stomach. Yu was lifted a few inches off the ground but keep steady backing away from the man standing in front of him behind the impact of the fist," On second thought I think I will stay over here! Seems this gentleman would like to have words with me"

"What no counter attack? Man our leader was a sweet angel and she had more killing senses then you. Honestly, I haven't had a good fight in years since she 'left' and here I was hoping I could test you out. Going blow for blow she would murder you!"

"Senpai don't you think you are being a bit harsh? Maya was deadly because times called for it, however, these kids didn't come here looking for a fight...at least not by us" The figure with the bat huffed," And besides Maya had that ass-"

"Please don't start Junpei this is not guy talk time. There are um..." The man in front of Yu uncovered his head and shook his white hair of the snow and ice," 1….2…..3….4 yeah 4 girls here have so have some respect man. Besides Yukari would kill you if she heard you talking about Maya like that.. fuck man woman are scary!"

"Yo, hold up, what are you talking there are only three girls here including ours"

"No….no idiot there are four" He pointed at Naoto," She's a girl man-"

"She also has really big tits" Rise yelled smirking.

"And seemingly she has really big ti- lady parts"

"Rise would you leave that alone please" Naoto looked annoyed.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't poke at you now and again? Besides neither one of these guys seems the type to really car-" she stopped when she saw Junpei uncover his head and put a baseball cap while staring at Naoto," Okay one of them doesn't seem to be the type that would be overly interested in that detail. That guy with the cap reminds me of Yosuke in more ways than one that is honestly a little hard to put into words"

"Oh, a pervert?" As Naoto said this Yosuke briefly gave her this what the hell type look," Don't give me that look. Don't blame me for the way you put yourself out there. I am just stating facts from what I have gathered from our friend and observing you overtime"

"Not to be rude or nothing but should we really be having this conversation right now? I mean there is a guy with a bat standing over Yosuke and Yu is on his last legs after getting hit once in the gut" Chie sighed feeling her nerves but oddly enough she didn't fully feel the danger of the situation which she was expecting. Be that as it may, this made feel a little uneasy because it was the unexpected you were always told was the most dangerous or the feeling of false security.

"Giving them the slight benefit of the doubt if they really wanted to have an all out fight I don't think they would be waiting around not. well.. attacking" Naoto said sighing getting back to her normal manner of speaking," Plus killers would have a bit more sense then to try and fight this many people without knowing their abilities. No, this is far to unplanned to be a planned attack," She cocked her head to the side," Or should I say this is too much of a mix of both? They knew they could attack us without harm, but the attack itself was unplanned?"

"Well that's no fun you have a smart one in your group guess the act is up," Junpei put his bat in the soft ground and waved at them," We were sent here to come get you but decided to have a little fun with you and it's kinda embarrassing but we may have forgotten what you were supposed to look like. Sorry about that. We thought if we attacked and you would just yell at us saying who you were-"

"So what were you planning to do if we were just some random people on this trail?"

"-Yeah kinda didn't get that far but there was no need to worry I had total control of that attack" Junpei didn't sound like he was telling the truth. It was more like this was just a good outcome so he didn't have to stress about the 'what ifs'.

"Wait then who the hell shot that arrow at me?! After you stopped attacking they should haven't been a reason to shoot at me!" Yosuke said looking annoyed rubbing his cheek and getting off the ground.

"About that, you see we may have asked the person we came with to stay back and didn't explain fully what our plan was. So when we attacked suddenly...she may have just assumed it was okay to attack. It looks like she has seen better now but we may be in a little trouble when we finally meet back up with her" Junpei keeping rubbing his forehead while pulling down his cap," Dammit this isn't the best time in the world to piss her off either" The last line was said more to himself then to the rest of them.

"You know you are assuming a little too much still aren't you? You just telling us information and we have yet to confirm if we are indeed the people you are looking for" Yu said relaxing a bit when he was such the attack was over," how do you even know you have the right people?"

"You're in the middle of nowhere, on a mountain, a thousand miles from the nearest road, hiking on foot, your college starting age or high-school seniors, and she," Pointing to Naoto," explained more information then anyone would have the right to know about stuff from outside looking in would know. Forgive me but you can't be normal fucking people! And even if you weren't who we were looking for," Junpei's voice grew a little dark," What makes you think we didn't have a fallback plan just in case you were a threat. I am admittedly stupid but we have a lot of people the make up for what I am lacking in tenfold. We should be the ones saying that to you being so calm how do you know-"

"Well the smart tomboy looking, girl, is a famous detective and she found out we were heading this way and more than likely did research and knew who we were going to meet. So if she isn't worried I don't see a need to be. As you said before even if I am lacking in some area's I have people behind me that make up for my faults ten times over" Yu calmly looking unworried with his hand in his pockets.

"Huh, spoken like a real leader!"

"What the fuck Senpai I said the same thing" Junpei grunted.

"Yeah, but he said it like himself but you said like you were trying to copy Ma-"

"Stop….yeah I get it just please stop. I thin we have said her name enough, Sorry"

Yu and the others looked at the two in the awkward moment with an understand that they were dancing around a sore subject. It seemed like the man named Junpei didn't like being compared to this girl they kept calling Maya.

"Sorry. Um...right my name is Junpei Iori. The guy over there is Akihiko Sanada he is about a year older than myself so I guess that makes him your Senpai as well"

"Yo, nice to meet you all," Akihiko walked over to Yu and gently patted him on the back," Sorry about that. But you were better prepared than I thought you were. Normally that would take someone right off their feet no contest"

"Ha, not going to lie that hurt like hell. I think I got a little lucky you weren't trying to go all out," Yu smirked. He didn't hold any ill will," but look out one day I may get you back but it won't be today ha-ha,"

"I'll count on that. Anyway, our other member should be driving with another on snowmobiles to take everyone up the rest of the way. We are sorry we would have tried to get you sooner but we are having a few difficulties at the minute. Nothing to major but everyone on own end has been busier than normal"

"Senpai, would you mind giving us a little bit of information while we are waiting? If that is okay that is" Chie asked," Our leader may have been less to forthcoming with information and we are kind of in the dark here,"

"Don't blame him on that account being he really wasn't told much due to us not wanting to leak information to the wrong people. We have had betrayal and run-ins before with cultist Persona Users. So we are now and then a little more tight lipped then we may seem right now" Akihiko started looking down at the snow under his feet.

((P3P Cut))

"You see four years ago betrayal is what got our leader killed or maybe it better to say it's what lead to her death" Everyone was quiet as Junpei spoke with a slight shake in his voice.

"No problem. I didn't mean t-to.."

"No, it's fine. You see the 'Leader' was a very bubbly cheerful girl and at the same time a total tomboy. You couldn't tell it by looking at her, however, being how gentle she was. She was beautiful and I am not just talking about looks. She was my best friend and the one girl that never mistrusted me even once…..even if I didn't return the favor at first-" He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder and Akihiko was standing behind him," Sorry. J-just now... I-I can't…. " he collected himself" No need for an emotional dump right now,"

"Excuse me Junpei Senpai?"

"Just Junpei is fine...um your? Oh right, Yukiko Amagi right?"

"Yes. Did your leader four years ago happen to go on a volleyball joint training weekend?"

Akihiko spoke up," Oh right! Your remember she did go to something like that during the summer of that year. Wait how would you know that?"

"I was there at my Family's Inn and they just happened to be staying there at the same time. I talked to her a bit and she was really nice. But the reason it hit me it was her was she said her friend Junpei would have loved to have been there with her," She stopped talking for a second and looked like she wanted to say something else but she looked at Junpei who was turned away," B-but sorry I just..w-wanted to be sure…."

((End P3P Cut))

About fifteen minutes of awkward small talk passed until they all heard the sounds of motors coming there way. They saw a skinny per-teen boy wearing a light yellow jacket and brown ski hood driving to them with a girl wearing a heavy pink sweater riding another one beside him," Yo, sorry that took so long,"

"Nice timing Ken. I was just starting to freeze my but off standing around here-"

"Oh, I wonder who's fault that is. Oh right! Maybe the two idiots who decided to attack people rather stay around and let me call Mitsuru-Senpai and get a confirmation on how the people we were waiting for looked like. Oh no! You decided you going to trying and play the hero and just go on guts and attack people at random! Your lucky they were the right people Stupei!" This sounded really overly bitter.

Chie looked over at Yosuke suddenly because this scene had this odd familiar feeling but she didn't say a word.

"Chill Yukari. It was an honest mistake on my part and I am sorry for jumping the gun and not listening to you," Junpei didn't sound like he really wanted to fight back as it seemed Yukari did.

"Takeba just for today let it go for now. You know better than anyone else why he is a little jumpier than normal-" Akihiko cut off by Yukari giving him a very hateful look.

"The fuck ever" She seemed overly hostile towards Junpei and Akihiko that was clearly apparent to everyone around them," I don't have time for this. Are you all coming or not? There a pull wagon in the back of both Snow Mobiles so we can pull four with each," she didn't seem very interested in introducing herself.

"Takeba….." Akihiko said in a gentle manner before whispered to her where only she could hear" We will get her back just hold on"

"We just need to get back as soon as possible and I don't see the point is delaying things for reasons that could or can be easily avoided," She sounded heartbroken which was odd cause nothing in this brief exchange would seem to be a reason for that to occur. Naoto, Chie, and Yosuke were the first ones in the coming group to notice this. They didn't know these people well or at all but somehow they got the feeling they were all connected closer than any of them knew at the time.

"Yukari-Senpai enough, please. Come on your wasting as much time as Junpei-Senpai and Akihiko-Senpai" The boy on the other Snow Mobile sighed before looking at Yu and the others," If you will please get on the wagons in four-four. Also please forgive my friend for being a bit on edge right now I promise everything will be made clear when we reach where we are going" Ken said in a mature tone that didn't totally fit his appearance,

Yu nodded" Yeah..."

All talk died as everyone piled in.

From where they were the drive took about another twenty minutes going a slow thirty miles an hour. It was a smooth path for most of the way but they did have to slow down the closer they got to their location due to a forest surrounding the spot. On arrival, they were greeted with the sight of a large mansion like building. It was made of white brick with a hue that matched the falling snow so it gave the appearance of being slightly cloaked the father you were away from it.

"Well that's new," Yosuke looking over the place as they pulled up," Can't say I personally saw this coming," his face looked slightly grim," Why does this place feel like the type that you would see in an opening to a bad Pg13 Horror Movie"

"See! It isn't just me Akihiko-Senpai! I said the same thing man it's got this creepy vibe to it. And check it," he lowered his voice," Alone on the snowy mountain college students arrive with a group of high school seniors. Alone they find mystery, love, danger, and lust-"

"Dude no one is going to fall in lust here. Keep your fantasy n you head man," The whole Yosuke said this, however, he was just grinning and nodding.

Yu, on the other hand, felt something calling out to him the more he looked at the house. It was a soft rather seduction famine voice that was tickling the back of his mind. The more he tried to shake it off the more it seem to get to him until his head just started feeling like it had nails driving in it,' Dude are you okay you are starting to go pale? Hey? Hey? Yu!" As Yu tried to answer the panicked Yosuke he couldn't find his voice as his vision suddenly faded to darkness and the world went silent around him.

"Huh? Well, you are here again I see? Interesting but this time I feel you are not the guest I am interested in. As you will soon see the world is about to change and you will play more of a support role while still being a major player. However, for once, I will be open and a little bit selfish openly. Yu, please I need you to save her. I need you to save my other half. Death comes for us all but it was too soon for her to give her own life," Yu kept trying to open his eyes but his body won't listen to him. That being said even if he could see who was talking to him he knew her voice well and it worried him to hear Marie of all people sounding on the edge of tears well talking to him," Please save Alice from Wonderland. For everything you learn in about fairytale are just bastardized tales,"

The voice faded

Yu felt rocking at his back was against a soft warmness," He still seems to be out of it but he is breathing and his vitals are normal. Don't worry he is in no danger but I can't be sure what caused this. I am very sorry I can't be more help than that as of right now. It may just be the air up him caused him to pass out because he wasn't ready for it, however, saying that right doesn't make a lot of sense because everyone else seems to bee just fine and we are all from city areas"

"Fuuka-Senpai it will be okay being fair this isn't really the first time we have seen this guy pass out for no reason. As long as he is breathing and is healthy we will just have to hope there is nothing more to it," Naoto voice came out of nowhere into Yu ears.

Everyone was gathered in this over the top living room deck out in metallic gold trim and dark gray wooden walls. The floor was carpeted blood red with a shaggy carpet texture. In the center of the room there was a rather small rosewood table that rested a single vase full of roses and this table was surrounded by soft furred black sofas which hosted at the time Chie, Rise, And Yukari one, Junpei, Yosuke, and Ken on another, Fuuka was sitting with Yu's head in her lap with both of her head gently resting on his forehead as Naoto with another woman stood behind that sofa.. There were 4 more empty sofas around as well not being occupied.

"Anyway now that we have all gotten introduced I am sure there are more than a few questions you would like to ask. I am sorry for any misunderstanding that may have been caused by Junpei and Akihiko but be assured they had no ill will towards any of you all. We have had more than our fair share of trust issues when it has come to people and we may have gone slightly more watchful of who we being into our world," A women leaned over Fuuka from behind her sofa wearing dark rim glasses and a long dark fur coat,"However after looking into it a bit I would say that is a bit unfair on our part as it would seem you have had your own betrayal problems involving a police officer. For now, I would say we shelf that for another time,"

"Yeah, I am sure you have your reasons Mitsuru-Senpai as for us I think we also don't wish right now to bring up betrayal right when we are supposed to be getting to know one another. It's good to have it in the back of your mind but talking about such things makes it a lot harder to trust people upfront," Chie spoke up taking the lead for her group. She wasn't the best talker in the world but she was still working on her bravery so she took her chances to speak out hen she could.

"If that is settled would you mind going into full details as to why you summoned us here? Going off m own knowledge I would believe it would have to be something related to Shadows and Personas" Naoto spoke.

"You both right and wrong at the same time. There is a concerning shadow problem on the rise we have to deal with but we could cover it alone if needed but it's nice to have back up. That being said our first intentions are admittedly more selfish than that. As you may have picked up on in passing we once had a leader like yours. A very charismatic girl, bubbly, bright, and down to earth. One could say she wore many masks and looked into people hearts in a way more others could not. I believe you get what I am talking as I feel the same power in your Yu that I felt in our Maya Sonata-"

"And before you ask..no. We don't technically know her real last name" Junpei sighed," that is just what the records say...As we have found out things are a little confusing involving her,"

"Maya gave her life to Seal 'Death'" Mitsuru continued.

"You mean the grim reaper we have run into time to time?" Yosuke said looking slightly confused.

"Being fair 'I was never clear on that' but not that 'Death' better the say The Harbinger of Death, Pharos, or as we knew him in human guise Ryoji Mochizuki a.k.a Thanatos in Persona form and Avatar Of Nyx."

"Your mean like the goddess of the night from Greek mythology? How in the hell could you seal a god? I mean you just now said yourself your leader sealed the Harbinger of Death but not Death herself if am fully understand our wording. But how does one seal a being of unlimited power?" Yukiko said in a low tone as she was in deep thought as she stood by Mitsuru," Please don't take my words for being harsh but I don't believe you sealed the god but more and less halted the gateway for her to arrive,"

"Which is why are leader sacrifice seems pointless" Junpei spoke up.

"Wait what was suppose to happen if Nyx arrived?"

"Every life on this planet was supposed to be wiped out. The thing about it is we don't how this world have taken place well...we don't the time it who take for everyone to die"

"And all we had to deal with was a serial killer. Comparing the two events we seem like..well real children compared to you all" Chie said," It's is really unsettling that something like a Goddess trying to come could happen and we all be so unaware of the battle going on,"

"I wouldn't say that. That is not how our mission started off but as many things in life one thing just seem to lead to another. Every time one problem arrives more just seem to follow...and blah, blah, blah all the outer bullshit metaphors I could say," Mitsuru held her head in her right hand before throwing up her left," But we are getting off track for right now. The point is this being had to be sealed from coming into full power by Maya. As Yukiko just pointed out this kinda seems pointless being all we did was halt Nyx for the time being but not all together. We sealed the Avatar but not the Ancestral Being so, in theory, she still has been called to Earth but it will take her much longer to get here without an optimal gateway"

"I guess I can tell what your number two reason for getting us here is. Can't say I am looking forward to facing the idea of death, but for now, I going to guess the main point of this is you have a way to bring back your Leader Maya. I mean your taking the long way in asking. You want to bring back a loved one as would anyone who had a strong bond with a person. You think the idea she had to give her life for something that seems meaningless was unfair which I can see and honestly completely agree with. Yukari is anger she loss someone who completely understood her and I am guessing she has a fear of losing people...also there is more there than I have any right to say. Junpei thinks he did or did do something that this death come sooner. Mitsuru you're the other leader and Maya was close to you like a younger sister maybe, but you trying to remain calm….just cut the other bullshit out and just ask for what you need. I personally don't have time to deal with anyone who doesn't have the resolve to get what they want. Some Goddess of death I could give a flying fuck about. The end of the world? We can fight against that. I need to know what you all want so I know how to help. Cause right now this is just going to go into a lot of needless explaining," Yu said gently pushing Fuuka's hands aside and sit up," Besides normal life was starting to get boring anyway I have a strong feeling if I save this Maya this world will become a lot more interesting,"

"Partner you are starting to get that creepy smile again" Yosuke sighed.

"Am I? Well looks like things are going to get fun again then?"

To Be Continued!


	2. Whispers In The Dark: Part 2

(A/N: This is just to polish off the last part frankly. I realize this is a lot of front-loaded information. I have the problem of cutting off too much or adding too much and making stuff boring I am sorry))

((Consider Chapter 1 and 2 the Prologue. I know cheap move))

((Sorry for the dialogue-heavy style. Please tell me if there are anything I can do to improve my style. I know it's not the best and can be done way better))

((Also this is pure FF nonsense with Power Scaling lol sorry. Also, my headcanon story set up cause none of this would make sense in the game world yet again sorry))

"Huh, can't say I saw you having this response but I am not going to be finicky and question your reasons for wanting to assistant us if only for the grounds we dragged you here in the first so that would be foolish on our part. You curiously have the same feel as Maya so I am attempting to put all my arrière pensée aside," Mitsuru pronounced in a downcast tone that reflected the feeling in the air that had taken hold of most in the room" It is as you say Yu. We are just proceeding with a roundabout way of asking for your help and that will unriddle nothing if we if we don't get to the point. But putting it all the way out there we are afraid of the answer we may get when that point is made," She inclined on the sofa and sit on the backrest of it by Fuuka's head with keen balance," As you said certainly first and foremost all we really want right now is to bring back Maya but it is a trifle more complex than what you are thinking. I said Maya gave her own life to make a seal to stop the arrival of Nyx and for the longest time that is what we conceived to be true with our admittedly limited understanding. But as we all know far too well everything is not as it always appears to be," Mitsuru was concentrating her gaze on the lone rose in the middle of the table as it seemed she was trying to dig in her own mind for the proper words to try and explain the state of affairs at hand," Last year my company launched a couple of satellites to do some environmental research using some new state of the art engineering science. We were taking pictures of the forest like areas when-" She hesitated for a second and took a deep breath before going on," We found this out of the way settlement of monks who believe profoundly in cognition of the human soul. After having a few pictures taken of the landscape around the village our scientist reported spotting a young woman in cherry-red drapes picking flowers in a few exposures"

"I see where this is going but may I ask did they ever get a clean-cut view of her face since you did say the young woman was draped," Naoto spoke up in a moment of pause from Mitsuru," Sorry my mind is just hurrying along from the information so verbalizing it out is the best way I know to deal it. I really didn't mean to be rude and not let you finish,"

"No, don't worry about it. It lets me know for the most part you are able to follow along and think forward on your own. So that being said to answer your question we did get a clear picture of the woman's face. Even so, the woman wasn't what you are imagining at least not fully, be that as it may, I will say right now she looked just like Maya facial characteristics, height, physical structure, and all the baseline stuff. The differences being Maya had burnt sienna hair with crimson eyes which always made her stand out a bit from others, but the woman we found had raven red hair with chocolate-brown bright red-tinged eyes," It looked like Yosuke was about to interject but Mitsuru politely held up her hand," Yeah, I acknowledge people can dye their hair and have contacts even that crossed my mind but she never seemed like the type that would attempt to hide from people by doing minor stuff like that is what I am trying to get at. If she didn't want to be found or if she wanted to hide I honestly doubt we could find her because she is or was not lacking in the knowledge department," Mitsuru had this exceedingly clear look of pride and regret on her face as she spoke of Maya's knowledge," So I had individuals look into the village and see if we could find any records concerning this woman. We did find records of her living there for seventeen years as well as being born there"

"Disregarding her having past history of her living there, and going off the well.. an educated guess you are thinking this woman is your leader, Maya. Wouldn't she be older than seventeen if the records date back to birth? I got the feeling from you all that Junpei and Yukari-Senpai were around the same age as Maya-Sensai? Even if it was a year different. seventeen years old wouldn't be the correct age even a year ago" Chie rubbing the side of her face as she was following the conversation as best she could. As she did this Yukari, Mitsuru, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Fuuka noticed the odd use of the word Sensai(Teacher). From what they knew Chie shouldn't have any cognition or history with Maya," Would there be any merit to me thinking this has something to do with the seal? I-I mean that you think this has something to do with the seal because I find it peculiar you would bring this woman and stick with her as a topic if she had nothing to do with your Leader Maya besides a close resemblance after seeing her much you all miss her," Chie acquired a unappeasable look on her face," It's just me but I don't believe you would be wasting time telling us about a random woman without having a good purpose for doing so,"

"It's more of an impression that you humans have then one of well-versed knowing. Indeed a magnificent and yet at the same time quite bothersome feeling which one doesn't like to experience," draggy light steps of heels could be heard in the room as a short light ash gray-haired woman appeared from the front hallway leading to the room they all were now sitting in" Forgive my abrupt entrance but I just gotten back from looking over a few things that Mitsuru asked me to look at. But oh my oh my I wasn't aware your guest had arrived," Her voice was more curious than anything else at the realization that there were new people before her all the same that didn't seem to halt her from talking to them like she would normally.

"I don't believe I really need to guess what kinda being you are because not to be bad-mannered simply you have the same atmosphere about you as Marie did in the Hollow Forest. You just seem otherworldly but in a cute way" Rise said looking somewhat anxious because even if she had the feeling she knew what this girl was. It didn't seem wise to cause a misunderstanding and piss her off so she was picking her words very carefully so not to by mistake offend her," Also your manner of speaking is somewhat the same. It has the learning air to it I mean,"

"Oh, I thought I was beginning to get a handle on the way humans interacted with one another along with your speech patterns. Looks like I will have to work on that sadly. Anyway my name is Elizabeth and it is a pleasure to meet all of you I have not before," She bowed to the room," As I am here now and I seem to have come in at just the right moment in time I will explain to you who don't know how we are sure this is 'My Dear' Maya," She pointed at Yu which caused him to slightly jump at how sudden the movement was. He didn't know why but...for a lack of any better words….she scared the living shit out of him," Like him, Maya can or could change her Personas on command. This is an uncommon power among persona users but not otherworldly beings and I for one can detect it. This along with me personally connection to Maya and how her aureola feels has made it very easy for me to identify who the young woman is. After just passing her but once before"

"You say aureola but Maya wasn't a saint she just had a light to her in general," Yukari smirking while looking at the ground,"But yeah Mitsuru sent me with Elizabeth to the Village of Moniren as members of the research team studying the area. We were to help them out while looking for signs of Maya. One day while we were out buying food we by chance encountered the woman we believe to be her but she demonstrated no signs of knowing who either of us was. Understand we quite literally bumped into her by mistake so this was not planned and we played it off as such" Yukari looked up from the ground. She had a tired look about her as she rubbed the temple over her eyebrow with her right hand," I thought she would know me but she smiled bowed her head said sorry and keep on walking like I was nothing more than dust in the wind. Elizabeth helped me keep my cool and we decided not push the matter. Meaning we didn't make her aware that we were interested investigating her out of fear she would report us, run away, or even if Maya was putting on an act and just couldn't show signs of knowing us...or didn't want to be bothered with us"

"If I can add my two cents to this," Yukiko was looking at Yukari will a sympathizing facial expression. She could see a shadow of the past of her own in Yukari that made her want to speak up and try and help her if only a little," I don't believe she would do that. I know it doesn't count for much and I am going off a brief meeting with her but Maya-Senpai didn't seem like the type of individual to not want to be bothered with her friends. I am sure if she didn't show signs of knowing you it wasn't of her own will or it was entirely out of her hands. So for the time being don't let that get you down...trust me questioning the people around you you care about distresses more than most understand, but doubting yourself along with what you believe in is a far greater stress on your mind. So until you know what is going on be brave until you get the answer you are looking for. Be that as it may, I am not going to bullshit you and say everything will be fine for no one ever truly knows what an outcome will be when dealing with the hearts of people. Like I said all you can do is weather the storm while hoping for answer while dealing with the outcome"

Yukari just gestured in approval. There in all fairness wasn't a lot she could say to that since honestly, she knew Yukiko was right. Mitsuru has given her a similar talking to but hearing it from someone else besides her just hammered it home just a little bit more," Yeah. Go it" She did her best to gave Yukiko a humble smile trying to put on a more dependable face for the younger people in the room. It wasn't going to help matters proceed forward if they started getting concerned or apprehensive about her.

"What can we do to assistance that you can't do yourselves? She doesn't know us either so meeting her wouldn't help. On the simple fact that besides Yukiko she would have never had met any of us in the first place to recognize us from the past," Yu questioning the situation. He had been following everything that had been said up until now closely but he didn't see a way that his group would be useful," Not questioning your know how but just having a hard time myself seeing what can be done with the information given to us so far"

"Candidly it is very uncomplicated really. However, the risks are, how you say, very high? First off...you" She once again pointed at Yu" Um...what's your name. I haven't had time to look over all your names that Mitsuru gave me. I have been very preoccupied as of late"

"Yu"

"Not me you silly," Elizabeth said with a confused looked on her face," You, what is your name"

"No not 'you' my name is Yu" Yu sighed. Every so often this old joke comes up but it was worst when the person was serious and didn't fully listen to the way his name was pronounced. However, something about this just seemed like a big joke" I am Yu"

"Your name is Elizabeth? Isn't that odd for a male? Or is this a new trend this day and age? My my, times are indeed changing fast aren't they?"

"No, my name is Yu! Y...U..."

"Oh! That s rather silly! Why would anyone name a child Yu? That like name someone naming their child We"

"Like the Who's on First Joke?" Akihiko plainly said as finally what was going on just hit him.

Everyone turned to him and sighed," Way to ruin the joke man. Of course, she was picking with him because of that joke. Even he caught on right away but went along with the joke. She wasn't serious Senpai, please learn to lighten up" Junpei shaking his head.

"Honestly they were trying to lighten the mood before things got dark again. You disappoint me Akihiko I had hoped over the years your sense of awareness had gone beyond you fighting ability," Mitsuru looked at the ground holding her head," Even I can read this kind of stuff now and then and you all use to call me a workaholic stick in the mud. But Elizabeth if you would could you explain what you told us when you came and gave us this information? And really thanks for trying to lift us up a bit"'

"There is no need to give thanks to me. Trust me even I know it is wise to look for moments of relief when you feel yourself breaking apart. Nevertheless...," Her voice took a more businesslike fashion," Yu, as you may know, you have a rare ability and Maya had the same power. It is my notion that if she were to come into reach with you then maybe her powers would reawaken," She interpreted the look of confusion on his face and keep speaking before he could interrogate her," Her powers seem to have been..well...kind of disremembered by her. My hope is if you can reawaken her powers then maybe this we unlock her lost or dormant memories."

"You also mentioned there would be risk involved? Care to elaborate?" Naoto said taking in every detail being said in the room. Her mind was going over every outcome she could think of.

Elizabeth hesitated for a couple of seconds after the question was asked. It was like she was trying to think of something but it kept slipping away from her," From what I know this has never been done before. And if it has I don't know fully how the person might have ended up. If I would have to give you the fundamental risks then I can think of three off the top of my head. One, the person isn't really Maya and we awaken someone we are not ready to handle. Two, there is a backlash and her powers go out of control possibly causing her harm in more ways than I care to think about or explain. Three, this is her not fused with death but fused with Nyx herself" The room was absolutely silent on the second and last answer. You could have heard a pin drop on the carpet.

"Explain each one of these in detail please"

"Right. The first one is rather simple if I do say so myself. If it isn't Maya either nothing happens or we awaken someone who we are not ready to deal with. As I said before I believe this person is Maya because of the feeling I get off of her. Even so, I must state it once again, unfortunately, the point that we must keep in the back of our minds this may not be her no matter how much we wish it to be. The second situation is a little harsher to deal with on a personal level for the older people here and me as well. If this is Maya we could just as easily kill her by being selfish. Maya was surely very powerful and getting all that power back at once could overload her body and yes even her mind. Think of it like a drug addict who uses drugs daily but suddenly stops for a few good months but relapses and tries to go back to the same quantity they were doing when they stopped….it would be an overdose cause their system can not handle that much again right off anymore.. or simply it is too much for their system to take in because the body or system is not in the same state it once was in. Either example words really" She looked heartbroken by her own words. It was clear she knew this was one of the most likely outcomes if anything was to go wrong or happen but she steeled herself and moved on from this dark reality," The last one is odd and likely. It pretty much is she herself had become death while being the new harbinger or she is simply now a living seal. But I find this last one unlikely because as you may have already talked about before I arrived. Nyx has been halted and sealed from getting a direct gateway to this world or plain. She has already been called so it's not like she needs...some kind of homing beacon. So even if she was a living seal Nyx wouldn't be within her"

"So essentially with that last one you're just casting that one out there as a worst case scenario or a combination of both one and two? And here I thought you were going to be the overly cheerful cute girl," Yosuke joked to mask he uneasiness," Now I am starting to regret wishing for some excitement in my life," He looked up a Yu," What the old saying? Be careful what you wish for right?"

"Sad but true. Never works for other things right? Only things that can get bad in a hurry" Yu smirked.

"You...are a lot more calm about this than we thought you would be," Akihiko looking Yu's group over in turn.

"What would freaking out solve? We can do that after we have discovered all the information you have to share with us and can be collected. Right now is the instance for us to ask questions so we have well-defined options so we are able to choice what path we wish to take from here on out," Yu folded his arms in deep thought,"It's a chilling thought but with ours abilities and what we have seen this does not seem that surprising...if anything my limited mind can't fully understand it. I can only try to understand what is being thrown at me the best I can just like anyone else here. Be that as it may, if we try and over think things all at once we will lose out nerve and most likely we will lose ourselves to fear, lack of understanding and just the weight of everything," Yu looked around the room," Maybe the reason my group isn't as nervous as yours is because we have never had to deal with something like this. So we don't grasp the full weight of everything going on," He knew the only way to truly feel what someone was dealing or has dealt with was to experience yourself," And I can't explain it in words but I feel a close bond with you all even if I don't know you so I myself want to help you all even if none of this quite honestly makes full fucking sense," Yu bowed," Now please tell me what comes next. Where do we have to head to get this started?"

To Be Continued.


	3. Behind The Mask: Part 1

((A/N: Slowly getting to the main story))

 **December 7th, 2013**

Ten days had gone by since the two groups of the Persona Users had met and become one group going after a goal. The older members of the group were driven for the time being by the idea of getting their beloved friend back while the younger members were happy to help and desired to see just what the world had in store for them as they were coming to the time in life where one wishes to learn more about themselves after the high school years have traveled on by. Naoto herself exhausted a lot of time memorizing the ins and outs of the equipment, information, techniques, proficiencies, and any other resources that Mitsuru's group had or offered up to her in the hopes of being more of an aid to everyone. Her efforts and know how really impressed Mitsuru herself. So while constructing plans for their next move she would often ask Naoto to take a second look at her ideas to have a more beneficial understanding of the wrongs what could go wrong before laying it out to the others and getting their individualized inputs on their roles. This back and fourth limited the number of meetings they all had to have before the day arrived for their operation to take place.

Mitsuru and Elizabeth, during the end of their first meeting after everything have been said and done, had explained that a tournament was being held in Moniren. Elizabeth with on to explain while she was there with Yukari both of them had gotten the wind from the locals that a fighting tournament was held once a year for monks and any fighter that knew about their small village to come and test their might in unarmed combat. And as luck would have it for them it was coming up on December Eighth. This was the perfect time for most of them to move into the town without much concern being while the battle was for fighters the village encouraged any that knew about it to come, watch, and learn from the others….it also didn't hurt if any wanted to donate to keep the place running but that was kind of kept under the table.

There were two scenarios they hoped for that would arrive from the event. One if they just happened on 'Maya' once again and they could maybe befriend her and get her to meet Yu. Elizabeth had expressed how this would most likely not be enough to cause a reaction in her power. _"We need a way to draw out her power. Simply meeting Yu isn't going to be enough just to push it out. This isn't some fairytale where a chance meeting just causes something to happen without any effort. Besides….that would be way too boring and anticlimactic,"_ Elizabeth threw this statement out one day after it was brought up on the topic of what they hoped was going to happen and how it was going to take place. Besides the fact everyone could tell she was comparing this state of affairs to old movie scenes they had to admit just meeting Yu would most likely not get a reaction out of Maya having to do with her power at least.

The second hoped for outcome was they hoped Maya would enter the tournament thereby meeting her that way. In which they would have Akihiko, Chie, Junpei, and Yu along with one more possibly enter to try and make to through fighters round by round in hopes of fighting her and wearing her down. This would hopefully back her into a corner and force her power to come forth. Yu would be the fighter they would mainly be banking on to cause her to awaken however the hope was just by meeting him in the ring would jump start the process since there was no full proof way, minus cheating, they could be sure Yu had a fight with her worn out.

"Let me ask you something Senpai. How good of fighter was she?" Yu asked Akihiko while the two trained for the tournament along with Junpei and Chie while Ken watched taking notes on their fighting style and minor bad habits they had of choreographing their moves," When you first punched me you talked some good shit about how she was a sweet angel but blow for blow she would murder me. And not going to lie that really got my system going," he got this look in his eyes that was off-putting for Akihiko," I wanna see these killing senses you were talking about" The two of were facing each other in a workout room in fighting stances as they begin to circle one another. Sweat dripped off their bodies and was hitting the mat under them. Akihiko cracked his neck as he took off his shirt and threw it to the side of the mat. Junpei had a grin on his face as he plugged his phone in the radio sitting near him cracked it up and the words 'Spit Yo' Game, Talk Yo' Shit' could be heard in the room as Yu took off the jacket he was wearing and was in a sweat covered wife beater.

"Frankly that is the scary thing about her but I really doubt a pretty boy like you would get it. She seemed on the surface like you normal everyday high-school girl. However-" he stopped moving on a dime and lunged right at Yu with a left hook aim at his forehead. Yu jumped back two inches but he could feel the wind from the swing blow against his forehead as he moved his head to the right watched Akihiko left arm fly right pass his head Slightly hearing the muscles tightening in his arm" When fighting shadows she was ruthless. When sparring with me she….I don't know I could never bring myself to hit her"

"Couldn't find it in you to hit a girl or-" Yu dropped to the ground before spinning on the grounding rotating on his left knee which folding while fully out stretching his right leg trying to sweep the legs out from under Akihiko. Akihiko jumped as he saw Yu drop foreseeing the sweep. He cleared Yu's leg and landed on the ground right when Yu rose back up to full height taking a defensive stance"-Were you afraid of her? Also interesting, I was under the impression you were a pure boxing type. But you saw the kick coming like you were waiting on it. Come on old man let me in on the fun or are you too scared once I figure you out you going to be embarrassed by me in front of Maya in the Ring"

"Why does that surprise you, little boy? Come on now do you really think I've never been in a street fight before. Anything goes,"As he was talking and said the word little boy Ken started circling the room like he was looking for something he dropped on the floor. Right when Akihiko said anything goes Ken was right behind Yu in a flash and round house kicked Yu right in the small of his back. Yu fell to the ground as breath cause by the sudden strike escaped from his lungs," K-ken….oh shit…..Yu? You good man?"

Yu panted on the ground face down," Y-you cock sucking motherfucker….ugh..." His voice had a slight whine to it as his body twitched. You could hear Junpei and Chie both trying not to laugh as they ran up to help check on him.

"W-what you said anything goes!" Ken shrugging.

"Yeah, but I thought you were going to try and hold him for a second causing him to briefly drop his guard and then I was going to punch him!" Akihiko looking from Yu to Ken with a surprised look on his face.

"Training, Senpai this is Training. Spell it with me T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G. I knocked the wind out of him due to surprise. You were planning on knocking him out cold cause he was getting all up in your feelings. Thereby delaying training and risking the plan because he would have to recover. Then I would have to go tell Mitsuru-Senpai and she would Execute you along with Yukari…..the way I see it I just saved your life. So with all due respect, you can kiss the smallest part of my ass," Ken rolled his eyes while he went down to one knee beside Yu to check on him.

Akihiko sighed," I am seeing Shinji more and more in you by the day," He gave a sad smile," I honestly don't know if that is a good of bad thing"

"Someone has to keep you in line. And I promised him I would look after you. Besides always wanted a stupid older brother to yell at,"Ken helping Yu back to his feet.

"Can I hit him for you Senpai?" Yu chuckled with a cough as he rubbed his head and stared at Ken after he could stand on his own," After all you did say anything goes and it would seem we have a new fighter that has entered the ring"

"No….that would be far too easy my dear friend….let's give him a ten-second head start. Then we hunt him down" Akihiko nodded at Yu.

"Oh, An All-Out Attack? I like it!"Yu looked down at Ken," One...two..."

"Um...um….oh crap" Ken took off running followed closely behind by Yu and Akihiko. Akihiko forgot doing this wasn't going to pay off for him if Ken had his way. But that was going to have to wait a day.

] **=Later That Day=**

After they left their mountain hideout at five o'clock it took about seven hours for them to arrive at the village. They took a company plane to the local airport that was closest to the village then hiked in the woods till they arrived at around midnight in the village. This was a very secluded area with lush forest everywhere around. The ligneous plant life, the buildings, the air, and well just the atmosphere seemed to just breath life in every direction. A few children were playing as they walked around with what seemed like shine maidens hurrying them along with a gentle smile on their faces as they watched the children laugh and play.

Junpei had a peaceful look on his face as he politely watched the shrine maidens. He spotted one sitting happily on a wood chair near the main dirt road drawing on a big sketch pad. Mitsuru noted this and patted Junpei on the back," Don't worry I'm fine just day dreaming a little that's all" Mitsuru smiled gently and nodded in understanding. Over the years she had tried to become more aware of the people around her to better care for them. She really loved all her friends and always did the best she could try and be there for them now.

"This village doesn't feel normal" Yukiko said as they all walked to a camping area right outside the village," I don't how to fully explain it but I feel a lot of spiritual energy. This place feels well protected but at the same time, it's just comparable to an open wild. Like there are things watching us in the dark that we are just are too blind to see"

"I agree," Fuuka said tracking closely behind her," It doesn't feel mischievous or grievous but still we had better be on your guard here. If the data I got before departing is right we can use our powers here just like with the Midnight Hour and em..TV World. If that is the case other people most likely have abilities we are not aware as well so we shouldn't make any sudden moves by stepping on the wrong toes"

From there they got information on the camping area right outside the village that a lot were using to wait until the next day partake in the tournament and festival that was being had right after. So after arriving at the camping area, they set up their tents to rest before the competition was to begin.

Before turning in for some sleep Chie was walking around the tents making sure everything was safe and in place when she spotted Yukari staring off into the nighttime sky. She walked to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder to get her attention." You okay? Do you wanna take a short work before we should head to bed. Sorry to be annoying but you look like you have a lot on your mind right now. Better to just talk these things out then have then stuck in your head you know?"

"Huh, I'm the older one here shouldn't I be the one worrying about you not the other way around/" Yukari sighed with a slight smirk. She didn't know Chie that well but she was thankful nonetheless. And being utterly honest with herself there was something that was chafing her about a slight phasing Chie said a few days ago. So this seemed like the best time to kill two birds with one stone without being the one to start it off. All she had to do was just be honest about anything asked and wait for her moment if it came up.

"Your getting hung up on age? Besides age has nothing to do with worrying about someone," Chie rolled her eyes in a slightly teasing manner.

"Point taken. Sure let's walk a little bit but not wonder off to far."

Chie followed Yukari as she took the lead. They walked far enough from the campsite so they wouldn't be overheard without yelling. There was a nearby lake that glowed as it reflected the moonlight. Yukari leaned on a tree they came across and sighed," She would be the one able to find a beautiful place like this….or cause us all to have a chance to see a place like this even if she is unaware of it," Yukari looked over the lake and the moonlight reflected in her sad eyes. She decided not to beat around the bush because she knew what Chie wanted to hear" No use hiding right? I mean my own feelings about everything that has to do with her. That's what I get for not being able to take my heart off my sleeve….I wear the fucking thing way too much," She chuckled," Guessing most of your group figured out why I keep getting riled up every time Maya is involved in conversations. Not like anyone tried to really hide it, to be honest on my group's side," Yukari voice was low making her sound like a soldier that had been gone from home way to long thinking of past regrets.

Chie folded her arms," I guess you could say that but it is not like we have discussed it or nothing, but yeah even me with my limited my mind can clearly guess your feelings," Chie didn't seem uncomfortable with the subject but she was still perhaps overly selecting her words" Were you in love with Maya before her parting?" Chie asked if to nothing else just to hear Yukari say the answer she already knew.

Yukari blushed. It was one thing if people could tell but it was another thing to hear it said out loud by anyone else,"Yeah….l-like I s-said no use hiding it"

Chie gave this grim look. "Before she 'gave' up her life did she know you loved her 'in that way' however?"

"You have better insight then I thought you would. No…. I didn't get the chance to tell her I loved her in a romantic sense. Back then even a few years ago same-sex couples were still looked down upon and I was unsure of my own emotions. It's stupid I was so worried about what the masses of the world thought I ignored what I wanted to say and needed to know,"

"So it was a regret I was feeling in your voice. Thought so," Chie spoke sadly.

"However since I have been honest with you isn't it about time you stopped fucking around with us and come clean?" Yukari didn't raise her voice at all and there was no malice in it.

"I don't know what your talking about-"

"Why do you call Maya...Sensai? Most of us noticed it other day but from what we know you-you two don't have a history with one another we are aware of"

Chie didn't hide the shock on her face," Crap I didn't know I was still doing that. If I tell you do you promise not to be mad at me?" Yukari just nodded," I knew Maya years ago. Mind you this was during childhood before I even started starter school. I was scared to tell you all because I thought you would think I was hiding something from you-"

"Oh, there is no reason to hide that. I was worried it was going to be something weird. You should have just told us. We have been looking into her past but we couldn't find anything"

Chie looked bewildered,"Wait are you telling me none of you know her past?" Her face went from confused to worried," That explains way to much right now..." Chie looked at the ground before falling back on it carefully and sitting down gently on the cold dirt," If I can ask, did you all ever have time to ask her about her past or better said what she remembered of her past?"

As soon as Chie said remembered a sudden frigid feeling began creeping into Yukari's stomach as she looked to the lake collecting her thoughts. "Besides her parents dying 13 years ago...I am sad to say that is about all I know for the most part that she said personally about herself. She was always so worried about everyone else it seems like she never had time to talk about herself from what I know and experienced. Plus she was only in our lives about a year," she looked back down at Chie," So we didn't have all the time needed to get to know her fully as we would have liked" Her voice shook.

Chie put her hand over her mouth before shaking her head. She uncovered her mouth," Maya never had any parents," Yukari raised an eyebrow. This statement didn't shock her as fast as it confused her," Not literally! I mean back when a was five...Maya lived on the streets unaccompanied. Hold on let me start from the beginning"

The conversation continued for the next hour as Chie revealed her knowledge of Maya's past to Yukari.

 **December 8th, 2013**

The following morning everyone arose and got ready to head to the arena in which the tournament was being held. As they got closer to the arena Mitsuru took Yukari, Rise, Fuuka, Yosuke, Naoto, and Ken and split from the others who were fighting plus signing up for the contestant. As this happen Yukari gave Chie this understanding looking and Chie nodded as everyone departed from one another. There seemed to be a much heavier understanding with the two that Naoto by chance detected as she caught sight of the two silently communicating with one another but decided this was not to best time to try and see what was going on as well as it didn't seem her place.

"I don't know how well this is going to go but besides the fact we are here to get Maya back I am looking forward to testing myself against all the fighters here. I need this to help me see how far I have come" Akihiko looked pumped and ready for a fight as the fighting group walked down a narrow path to a monk sitting at a check booth with a welcoming grin on his face.

The monk bowed," Welcome to the Moniren Transcendental Festival Tournament. Be aware this is a battle of the arts, however, no weapons, poisons or unnatural physical weapons are allowed. Be warned killing is not allowed in the normal matches but deaths have happened before when contestants have pushed themselves too far. If two opponents agree before a match starts then a fight to the death can happen. The final match is always a fight to the death however you can at any time give up. There is no shame in walking away," The man looked them over like he was scanning over they bodies," Huh, I see. All of you here are allowed to enter without problem. Use your gifts to achieve victory and fight with honor young warriors,"

To be respectful they all bowed in thanks as two double doors behind the booth parted open sliding into the wall. They headed forward.

After going in and the gates closing behind them they walked around for a good ten minutes before they were told where to wait with the other fighters. It was a large room painted slick black with bright lights," Hey Junpei" Akihiko poking Junpei in the gently as he scanned the room," Going to just put this out there since we are such good friends and all...being the pervert you are..have you spotted our target yet?"

"Why are you also calling me a pervert now and besides that what the hell would that have to do with me finding our target?" Junpei signed.

"Like you don't know the answer to that question, but if you really want me to answer out loud then fine. When we use to fight you would always be the one staring at Maya as we fought and you would comment on her ass every time she fought in her school uniform. So let me ask this again in a way you will understand. 'Yo, Junpei have you spotted that ass yet?" Akihiko mocked Junpei's voice as he rephrased the question with a teasing smirk.

"Are you still bitter about the whole me telling you to lighten up thing with Yu and Elizabeth?" Junpei laughed softly," Anyway to answer your question...yeah. In the back corner, I notice the woman sitting down alone on the floor that fits the profile," suddenly Junpei's face took a much more serious look as he glanced over his shoulder in the direction he had indicated," While we have been here I noticed a few things. Monks have been coming up to her every few minutes asking her different questions. She seems to be getting treated with a lot of respect and honor from what it seems like"

A lean mean dress in blue robes leaned over to the side of the two young men talking in a soft manner as he butted in after overhearing their conversation slightly," The girl over there you are talking about is the current top fighter here. She won last year hands down without any trouble. It was for a lack of better words unreal how flawless her fighting was. On the outside, she seemed like just some cute young girl but a lot of us found out the hard way how scary her aura was when facing her,"

As they talked and watched her yet another monk came to her and she pulled back her hood and they saw her face in full for the first time since they had arrived. As in the reports, she was wearing red drapes that made her stand out for all the other robed monks along with the hair, eyes, and body features all matching up. As Chie turned to see what the young men were looking at what see noticed first in this moment was the smile that the woman had on her face. It was so gentle but at the same time, you could feel a monster laying low under what she was projecting on the surface.

Akihiko being a fighter was feeling the same weight as he looked at the woman he knew in his heart was Maya. After the guy who had butted into their conversation excused himself to go back to waiting. Junpei looked back at Akihiko and said in a questioning voice," I just had a thought that maybe a little bit too late but if I remember right Maya never did any unarmed combat when she was around us did she?"

"Sorry to speak out of turn but I wouldn't worry about that too much right now. I don't think the details of that are really that important right now. Cause if that was the case I could say the same thing about you" Chie said.

"Eh, I'm a brawler," All because he used two hand weapons people always forgot he was a brawler by nature. What he lacked in pure technique he made up for in endurance. So he could take punches while defending himself. He waited till his opponents were worn down in energy and then went on the offensive. But the cons of this would get to him easy with a skilled fighter going head to head with him knowing how to work around this.

Suddenly they heard a voice ring out all around the room.

"Welcome Transcendental Festival Tournament! We have a great group of fighters this year who are ready to go. We would like to welcome all of you that have come from all corners of the world to watch and fight here today. Your ongoing support is what helps keep this small village going where we can keep training fighters in peace and harmony. However, today is the day where all get to let loose and fight to the fullest. To everyone watching please do not worry about harm coming to yourselves by mistake because surrounding the fighting arena there is a barrier. That being said all fights will be one one one, not material world weapons, and no unauthorized killing. A Death Match can only be had if both parties agree to it before fighting and it is approved by the judges. The final is always a Death Match, however, anytime during that fight you are allowed to give up because knowing when it is best to walk away is also a skill that many warriors forget it prideful times"

To Be Continued.


	4. Behind The Mask: Part 2

"Now! Let us not detain events anymore and get to what all you in the crowd came to see!" Every combatant in the diminished blackened room readied themselves as they listened to these words from the outside walls of the room. The atmosphere was riding high with the exhilaration of the upcoming battles before them." Now! Would all the fighters please come out of the warrior waiting room and stand in your area outside here where you can also keep an eye on the upcoming matches," Everyone in the room filed out in a surprisingly orderly manner. It seemed most fighters had been here before and fully respected the rules of the tournament. The new people followed suit to be respectful as well" Just to let all the newcomers know all the fighters here have been scanned by our seasoned elders at the front gate they had to pass by to get into here. Any who did not pass the requirements were turned away for their own safety. So please do not worry about the aspects of some of the fighters for as corny as it sounds looks can deceiving" As the man continued speaking all the combatants left the building and could now see the large white used marble ring in front of them. Around the ring about fourteen feet on all sides of the prominent ring where comfortable looking bleachers full of people from all walks of life," We will call for all parents with children to use your own judgment in allowing your children to stay and watch matches however please keep them close at all time just to make sure nothing happens to them,"

Akihiko looked out and glanced over the crowd and saw a few children waving at all the combatants. To him, it was like being in the ring but something pulled at his heart as gloomy sentiments filled the back of his mind. He looked at Yu and tapped him on the shoulder." I won't like the idea of children being here and a death match taking place but that can't be helped. But I can't shake the feeling that one of their parents is going to be out here fighting and by mistake or for honor end up dying right in front of them. Shit..makes me feel like a rotten person cause every now and again I forget about the bad side of fighting for glory and honor," He took a deep breath in and out before he continued talking," hell who am I kidding even fighting to protect others has a dark side to it if you are forced to take another life. In the heat of the moment you can never stop in think about the what ifs..sorry just thinking out loud," Yu was confused by this sudden statement even if he understood it. Something was not adding up in his mind that had been starting to get to him the last few days. Something else besides the Maya issue was going on under the surface. Yeah, there was a shadow issue they haven't got full details on yet, but more he talked with the older people the more it felt like they were fighting humans and not shadows.

"Now as of right now I would like to ask our standing champion to come give us a few words to start off things before the first match," As he addressed everyone in the area Chie, Yu, Akihiko, and Junpei watched as from behind the robe-cloaked woman, that had been sitting in the corner away from everyone else, passed them by in a dilatory fashion. Every monk in the crowd stood up bowing profoundly as the whole crowd of hundreds of people went hush. It seemed like she had dawned her hood once more since they had all left the waiting room as she walked with grace to the man standing in the center of the ring that had been speaking to the crowd. There was a magnificent atmosphere to her presence that made everyone watching just gaze at her as she walked with pure curiosity. Many people in the crowd not from the settlement stood up and bowed accompanying the monks. Interrogatively enough the shrine maidens, that had been peppered around the village everyone had been seeing, didn't bow but instead just brought both hands to together like they were about to start praying while closing their eyes" A soul of grace and beauty as well as one the holds knowledge well beyond her years. Comparable to a gentle dance of the winds that stream mother earth on the skin of all that walk it yet her tempestuous is that of dragon that sleeps on the mountain high waiting for those who wish to test they will against her own. The Songstress Of Phantasma, Miss Maya Yuri Sonata!"

As she reached the center the ring and stood by the announcer speaking he handed her the microphone as she made one breeze of a motion and took off her over robe to reveal a flowing silk modern Greek like fighting combat dress. Maya handed the red robe she had been wearing over this combat attire politely to the announcer who put it over his right shoulder without a seconds notice. The dress was scarlet with black and silver gray highlights. The dress was short to about right above her knees. Black stockings ran up her legs from her black fighting matching combat shoes. Rose red lipstick painted her lips as she bowed before she started to speak into the mic she had a firm grip on in her left black right fingerless gloved hand," I am very honored for all of your respect but please honored guests and fighters raise your heads for today is a day for us all," Everyone relaxed," Us as souls walk this frigid reality daily. We see things we would preferably like to turn away from but alternatively, we keep facing forward no matter how hard it gets to bare. Here today we as fighters put all that aside for a common desire...the need to examine ourselves and discover what we are capable of along with how we can improve ourselves. This is also shared with all of you watching us. Dozens of you wish to disremember the outside world for just a few moments and just see a raw passion being performed in front of you. Many of you are here just to cheer on loved ones and root for them to achieve their desires," Suddenly a smirked cross her face as the wind blew in the open area.," However all that PC bullshit aside. We know what we are here to do! You know what you wanna see! So I will crush your loved ones under my feet. I will take their desires and make them see how far they have to fall when they face a true dragon," She keeps her head turned to the crowd but her eyes turned somewhat to her fellow fighters," But please worms don't fall too quickly...I wanna see you squirm first" There was a twisted look on her face as brought her free up to her lips and gently yet seductively rubbed down them. Lush

The crowd thundered and every fighter apart from Chie, Akihiko, and Junpei were screaming with ecstatic battle-cries," Huh, she really knows how to set fire to a crowd," Junpei stood with his arms folded looking at Maya," However on the spur of the moment, yeah, I don't feel like stepping into the ring with her. As sexy as she looks with her hair down and that dress on I don't wanna die today," Junpei on a closer look was shaking as he stared at her. He was verbalizing like himself but one could not help but hear the present shake in his voice" Sorry...I know I sound like a total coward right now but something seems a little bit off but I can't put my finger on it. Also, I can't fully explain but I can just feel we are overly looking something as well"

In the crowd at nearly the front of everyone else Yukari, Mitsuru, Fuuka, Yukiko, Elizabeth, and Yosuke watched the display together while waiting on Naoto, Rise, and Ken to find them. They had got separated briefly," Well…. That got a little be sadistic at the end don't you think," Elizabeth said with a curious look on her face. What she had just seen was not quite what she had planned out in her mind was going to be said by Maya. Some might think she would be disappointed to have her mind's eye view shattered..but to the contrary she found this turn of events more exciting because she herself didn't predict it," All she is missing now is the whip and someone calling her master as they lay under hear right foot with a deliciously joyful look on their face-"

"-Oh I'd call her master any time," To the left of them they heard a shrine maiden speak softly as it seemed she had heard bits of what Elizabeth was saying in passing," Whip me, strip me, abuse me, use me, tease me, please me, delight me, excite me!"

"Oh, we seem to have a willing person to fill the role now," Elizabeth sighed in what seemed to be a disappointment," And here I was starting to wonder what being a masochistic type would be like. Humans sure are quick on the draw,"

Yosuke raised an eyebrow sensing the slight hint of curiosity in her voice from what she was talking about," I don't think...I don't believe...uh...I don't believe or think you can call dibs on something like that Elizabeth. I mean if you want her to dominate you-"

"Yosuke!" Yukiko shouted.

"What she brought it up why am I the one getting yelled at?" Yosuke pouted," I was just going to tell Elizabeth if she needed as chains, handcuffs, strawberries, cream, blueberries, caramel, chocolate, honey, peanuts-" All the girl around him stared at him as he went on," syrup, hand ties, edible candles, flavored candle wax, ice cream, strap-" Everyone's jaw dropped," bananas, duct tape, baby oil, bindings and so on you can come on down to my store anytime. We are open near twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. However, for her, she can just call me anytime and I will work a way to get the things she needs"

"You've thought about this way too much," Fuuka blushing,"Or maybe you are just used to giving people the sell by now one"

"Have you ever worked in retail on a slow day where no one walks in? Trust me there is far more free time some days thing you think there is in a small town mall" Yosuke shrugged

"Or you are just like Junpei and can most likely even guess what underwear Maya is wearing right now-" Yukari snorted.

"Lacy crimson red thong with black hearts lined in silver with a matching bra," Yosuke sighed.

They all stared at him again as Naoto, Ken, and Ruse finally made their way to them in the crowd but stopped and looked confused when everyone was just staring at Yosuke not saying anything," What happened?" Rise piped up.

"Yosuke being Yosuke" Yukiko sighed.

"Oh was he talking about Maya's lacy crimson red thong with black hearts lined in silver with a matching bra? Or his bondage fetish?" Naoto asked nonchalantly.

"How would you know about the underwear he talked about?" Yukari asked.

"Oh...that's just obvious," Naoto didn't look at Yukari but at the ring.

Maya passed the microphone back to the announcer. She took back her red robe but didn't put in back on over her attire but instead just hung it over her right arm before crossing her arms together," And with that I would like to call the fighters for the first match down to the into the ring," The crowd sighed as the announcer once again started addressing them," Don't worry folks out champion isn't leaving us for she has decided to help out with announcing till the finals. We had a...accident happen to my former announcer this morning but rest assured he is okay and is resting with the best treatment we can offer him. So if you could please pray for his fast recuperation that would be most welcomed," Everyone in the Maya's Recovery Party took notice of what had been said about the announcer suddenly having an accident. However, Junpei, Akihiko, and Chie connected this may have had something to do with the monks that kept coming in and talking to Maya doing the waiting period in the black room. Naoto in the crowd found this too much of a confidence that something like this happened on the day of a big event for this village was be held in front of a lot of people. More than that is was unusual to her that it appeared is was evidently a small accident however if that was the case they didn't need the added detail that the announcer was under medical care while still not saying what kind of mishap it was that would cause him to have or require medical treatment. However, she had already put together another reason way a small accident shouldn't have been a big deal here that she hadn't had time to share with the other yet….

"Also this doesn't mean that Young Maya will not be fighting in the normal matches. She..and this a direct quote.. does not feel there is anyone here that can truly wear her down even a little," Maya shrugged as the man beside her told the every else what she had said.

"Oh, the cute little girl thinks she can cut it with the big boys? I bet last year it wasn't anyone worth his their salt fighting and she simply stole this title!" A young mid-twenties man processing golden blond hair pass his shoulder in the middle of the fighters yelled and the crowd gasped and went silent. He was about six six in height and was built like a tank with muscles with his slender body," All this grandstanding when she is nothing more than a pretty little woman," He barked with laughter," You don't think anyone here can wear you down eh? Well, I am afraid to inform you cutie that I am sure I can wear that ass out for ya in more ways than one!" He gave a wolf whistle.

"Oh is that so? Sorry, I don't believe your man enough to try and take me on. You could handle me in the ring or outside it in the first place. All because you mother liked giving up her ass for you doesn't mean you are a tough guy. No, but it does mean you mother was most likely a whore to busy to teach you proper manners," She laughed madly," Oh what the matter daddy wasn't ever home so you had to the be the man of the house so you took to your role on a little too much? Oh such a naughty little child"

"Shut up bitch!"

"Oh, what do we have here all talk and no action, so typical of a coward. Such a shame and disappointment you are I guess mother dear was down on her knees for you for no real meaning anyway. And oh my, how much she must have loved you-" At Maya's taunting the man bolted away from the other fighters cocking back his fist that seem to generate fire around it," How dull" As the man got right up to Maya's face about to punch her the sky cracked and a bolt of lightning struck the man causing him to freeze in place from the shock.

'W-what the…." the man said as he slowly got his mind back to him but it was far too late.

Maya took her elbow and jab him square in the throat. The man tried to scream but it only sounded like hollow air because his throat had been closed because of the impact for a brief second,"Oh are you done? No...no I wanna hear you scream like a good boy," As the man tried and back away from her she grabbed his right as he turned to run.

"P-p-please n-n-no m-more I—I—I'm sorrryyy!"

Maya laughed extremely," Look at this! Begging after nothing? Oh, my!" she voice died back down to a low tranquil seductive tone," No, I didn't say I wanted you to beg.. but by all means please do cause you tears oh.. how they will excite me. You see I love it when people like you beg and weep to me. But no no no what am I doing, I am so sorry you much forgive me for I am forgetting my point, my dear…..I wanna see you scream!" She twisted his arm and right at the time, everyone could hear a sickening snap as his arm was bent completely backward towards her. He started falling to his knees but yelling in pain but Maya holding onto his arm before he could hit the ground pulled back up to her making his head fall on her chest and free arm over her free shoulder supporting him as he yelled and cried bloody murder.

Junpei becoming albescent as sheet shaking his head side to side slowly," Yeah...I saw that coming but still to see it first hand," It was right then when something clicked in his mind concerning that odd feeling he had been having but could put his finger on till now" Hey wait a minute...this whole time we have been here and hearing the rules in the ring and at the sign up gate haven't they been worded a little oddly? And that guy just now his fist was surrounded by fire as he charged Maya but no one was surprised by it," he said slowly turning to Akihiko," I thought we were supposed to awaken her powers but taking into account that everyone here seems to have powers of their own...can't that be said about her as well considering what we just saw? I mean hell the lighting was without a doubt caused by her"

"Also he said we were scanned….maybe that was to make sure we had enough power to be here safely?" Chie spoke behind them.

"I believe you two have a good point. The strength that it would have taken her to break down that idiot's arm was also unreal for someone of his mass by someone as small in as she is. But yet she barely moved a muscle but you could still feel the force needed for the deed to be done. If not by the sound then simply by the resulting scene we have in front of us," Akihiko looked both impressed and confused," There is no mistaking it. She is using her Persona ability and attributes mixed in with her instinctual talents"

Yu looked bewildered as he looked at the two," I thought that was a given a long time ago after we got here? Yukiko and Fuuka-Senpai said this place felt off added to that Fuuka-Senpai did say if her information she got before she left was correct we could use out powers here. They are also both of the Priestess Arcana...and we are surrounded by Monks along with Shrine Maidens in a Village dedicated to the Soul and Spiritual Aspects Of Life. How many fucking signs do you need? Cause, believe me, there are at least six more things that you may have overlooked or not listened to"

"I thought you said she didn't have her powers?" Mitsuru speaking to Elizabeth in the crowd," I know you didn't lie to us but right now we all know that somehow she has gotten at least her powers back to so degree. "

"You are correct when we last ran into her she did not have any powers that I could sense. Being fair that has almost been six months ago in June. I do not know what could have happened in that time frame from then and now being that I have not had anymore connect that with her to tell me otherwise," Elizabeth looked troubled as she spoke," However it is still very clear she doesn't remember a thing about us from how she passed Junpei and the others before she started speaking before, trust me, her body language did not speak otherwise to this statement," She looked away from the ring and saw the worried looks on the others faces,"Oh no, but there is good news. I can tell you right now this is the same person we are looking for and it is without a doubt Our Maya, but I don't know what to do about her memory right now,"

"Fair enough. For right now we just have to take the good news with the bad news and keep moving forward," Mitsuru nodded trying to shake the mind of fear that Maya may never remember any of them again, Now is not to time to give into darker thoughts,"

Maya looked down at the man with a sad expression on her face," Pitiful man was not taught when to hold his tongue had to be forced to learn a hard lesson. I am sorry if you think of me as cruel but honestly there are others who would not have let you off as easy," As whispered these words she adjusted how the man was on her before sweeping him up cradle style," I'll be back after I take this man to be treated" She told the announcer who was sighing.

The man she holding coughed" Y-y-your an f-f-freaking monster…."

"Tell me something I don't know," Maya said lowly as she carried him off stage to medics. A Young raven haired woman directed Maya to lay the man on the ground. After that was done the woman kneeling down at the side of him and hovered her hands off his body slowly. Over the next two minutes, the man stopped coughing and calmed down. He arm looked like it moved back into back over the small time period," Good Job sorry for the trouble,"

"He had it coming but please stop breaking people Maya," The medic seemed very friendly with Maya as she gave her a sarcastic tone. It caught Maya off guard when she said her name but she didn't recognize the woman as half her face was covered in a medical mask

Maya just smiled," I'm sorry but do I know you?"

To Be Continued.


End file.
